


Warmth

by onceandforall



Series: darkness exhales [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, he deserves all the love and comfort, protect nico at all costs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-19
Updated: 2015-01-19
Packaged: 2018-03-08 04:12:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3194885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onceandforall/pseuds/onceandforall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With only the smell of the bonfire remaining in the air, Will walks Nico back to his cabin. They do not talk about Will holding his hand during the entire bonfire, and even now, as their hands are laced together between them, Nico does not bring attention to it. He’s afraid of it meaning nothing, but he is also afraid of it meaning something. </p><p>He figures it means something when Will reaches down and kisses Nico softly when he says goodnight. </p><p>It’s a good something, warm and sweet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> oh, nico. you tug at my heartstrings. unbeta'd, as usual. please tell me if you find typos! and yes, this is the actual last part of the 'darkness exhales' series, ( i lied before, whoops ) but can be read on its own.

His sister has come by for a visit. “You finally redecorated this place,” she comments.

 

He takes a look around. “It needed a change.”

 

She hums in approval, the edges of her mouth tilting up into a small smile. “I like it. All the pastel colors really go well together.”

 

Nico glares at her. “It’s not my fault Piper volunteered herself to help with the remodeling project.”

 

This time, Hazel smiles and laughs.

 

-

 

“I’m fine,” he insists for what has to be the one-hundredth time today. He pushes away the warm hands are that wrapped around his wrist trying to take his pulse. “I spent my three days, you said I was fine!”

 

The hands drop from his wrist. “I also said no Underworld magic, but you seem to have a thing for questioning authority,” Will huffs.

 

“Walking is so tedious!” Nico protests. “It was not even half a mile.”

 

“And you still almost passed out, sunshine” Will points out. He raises an eyebrow, daring Nico to press on.

 

Nico doesn’t, clamping his mouth shut. _Damn Solace._

 

-

 

He swears that his leg doesn’t hurt that much, but then he tries to walk on it and sees red behind his eyelids.

  
_Bad idea_ , he thinks as he takes in a sharp breath. He can feel the edges of his eyes watering up with the pain.

 

“What the hell did you guys do?” Jason asks, putting his arm around Nico to support him so the boy doesn’t have to put all his weight on his injured, and probably broken, leg.

 

“Percy tried to drown me,” he says truthfully. He is dripping wet, his clothes heavy and cold on his body.

 

“You had your skeletons attack me!” Percy shouts, gently cradling his left hand. It looks broken, and it probably is.

 

“So I could get the flag!” Nico yells back.

 

“You didn’t have to send, like, twenty of them!”

 

Nico sighs. He had only sent three.

 

-

 

Will does not talk to him when they enter the infirmary. Jason had dropped both the boys off and then left to explain to Chiron why they had left in the middle of the game.

 

“You could at least say you’re sorry,” Percy says as Will is wrapping his arm with an ace bandage. Percy’s cheeks are flushed, but that is just because of the pieces of ambrosia Will had insisted that he eat.

 

“For what?” Nico inquires. Will still hasn’t looked his way, and it’s making Nico fidgety. He knew that Will would be mad at him for using his powers again, but so mad to the point of not speaking to him? “For you breaking my ankle?”

 

“I really didn’t mean that,” Percy says sheepishly.

 

Will finishes wrapping Percy’s arm, and then looks at Nico. His eyes are cold, none of the shining blue light that usually comes out of there present. Nico feels himself shrink. “I’ll be right back,” Will says.

 

Nico sighs. “Who do you think is winning right now?”

 

“Who knows?” Percy shrugs. “Hopefully Athena, maybe Apollo. Apollo does have Ares and Nyke on their side, you know.”

 

“Maybe if you hadn’t tried to drown me, then we could actually know who is winning.” Nico smirks, but then Will is back in the room and the expression drops right off his face.

 

-

 

“Why was Will so weird yesterday?” Percy asks the next day at breakfast. There are rules about sitting at one’s table and one’s table only, but for the kids with only a few siblings (or none at all) the rule gets thrown out of the window.

 

“Maybe because we dragged him out of Capture the Flag to mend our broken bones?” Nico suggests. He pushes a piece of fruit around his plate with his fork. He knows exactly why Will was acting ‘weird’, but he doesn’t feel like sharing the information. It feels too personal.

 

Percy shakes his head and takes a drink from his goblet. It smells like it is orange juice, but it’s colored blue so no one other than Percy can know exactly what the drink is. “No, that’s not it. He already had people in there. You guys get into a fight or something?”

 

Nico silently thanks the gods that he did not have anything in his mouth, because he is pretty sure that he would have ended up spitting it out anyways. “What?”

 

“Oh, don’t play around with me, Nico,” Percy says. “I know that if I’m not your type, Will certainty is.”

 

He can feel the blush spreading on his face. “No, we didn’t get into a fight,” he replies.

 

-

 

“I can’t believe you, sunshine,” Will says, pacing the floor of the infirmary. Nico is sitting on one of the bed, rolling and cutting bandages, his own bandaged ankle resting on a pillow in front of him. Will had sent Percy back to his cabin with orders for no harsh movement for a couple of days, so there is no one else in the infirmary, if you don’t count the two sleeping patients in the corner of the room.

 

Nico looks down. He can’t find it in himself to look up to Will. He knows that he has disappointed him. “Sorry.”

 

“Sorry is not going to cut it,” Will says harshly. “I can get the shadow traveling, ok? I let that slide. I can get you wanting to go out and play Capture the Flag even though I advised you not to, but what I can’t get is you using your powers again! I told you, no powers for at least six weeks!”

 

“Sorry,” he repeats.

 

Will stops pacing. He’s at the edge of the bed, his hands on his hips, and he looks so mad that Nico instantly regrets ever going against his orders. “Nico, do you not care?” Will asks coldly.

 

“I care.”

 

“Because you don’t act like you do. You constantly undermine my authority by going against my orders, and in turn you just keep getting worse. Did you know that it took double of the usual dosage of ambrosia to heal your ankle? I’m surprised that you haven’t burst into flames, to be honest.

 

“I don’t understand you. I’m trying to, gods I’m trying, but you make it so damn hard! I want to care about you, but you are not even caring about yourself! Do you ever want to get better?”

 

Nico does not have a reply. His head hangs on his shoulders.

 

“Nico,” Will says. His voice is soft now and it makes Nico look up. He still doesn’t meet Will’s eyes. Will sits on the edge of the bed, and grabs Nico’s hand. There’s a moment of silence where Nico has the chance to pull his hand away, but he does not. “Sunshine,” Will says, “why don’t you listen to me? I want to see you get better.”

 

Will laces their fingers together and Nico notices how warm Will’s palm is compared to his. Will brings up their intertwined fingers and kisses the back of Nico’s hand. His lips are warm too.

 

-

 

They’re sparring, well not really. It’s more like demonstrating to the small group of Demeter kids that Nico and Jason have been assigned to teach.

 

They clang swords one more time, before Nico turns to the group. “Do you guys all get it?” he asks. When they all nod, he continues. “Ok, partner up, it’s time for you guys to practice it for yourself. Remember, make sure your grip is correct.”

 

Nico finds himself liking teaching, even if sometimes the people that he teaches are terrible at sword fighting. It gives him a sense of purpose, and he loves watching the kids getting better as they practice. He just hopes that they will never have to use the skill, but he knows this hope is fruitless. They’re demigods; they will have to fight. There is no way around that fact.

 

-

 

The Romans are here. They come one month, and then the next the Greeks will go over to California and visit. It’s a nice pattern that had been put into place only a few months after the war.

 

Reyna always sits with him when she visits, and so he isn’t surprised to see a dark haired figure sitting at the Hades table when he goes to sit down for dinner.

 

What he is surprised to see, though, is the mess of blonde hair sitting next to her, talking animatedly, his own plate of food forgotten before him.

 

Nico must have caught them at the end of a story, because Will is smiling widely and Reyna has a small smile of amusement on her face. He sits down next to Reyna, and bumps his shoulder into hers.

 

“Hello, Nico,” she says. “Your friend, Will –was it? -, was talking to me about the latest incidents in the infirmary. It seems like you Greeks deal with more interesting matters than us Romans.”

 

“Honestly, I think it’s just because of the Stoll Brothers,” Will admits. “Their pranks can and will get out of hand.” He looks like he is going to go on an anecdote, but there’s a sudden crash coming from the Apollo table and Will is up in a flash.

 

He grabs his plate off the table. He smiles at Nico and Reyna. “Sorry, but it looks like my siblings are doing something that they’re not supposed to.” He smiles apologetically. “Nice to see you again, Reyna. See you guys at the campfire?” he asks.

 

Nico shrugs. “Sure.”

 

“See you later then, sunshine,” Will adds with a wink.

 

Reyna immediately turns to Nico when Will walks away. She stares at him, not saying anything.

 

“I know,” Nico says, turning to his food. “ I know. Just don’t tell Jason, ok?”

 

-

 

With only the smell of the bonfire remaining in the air, Will walks Nico back to his cabin. They do not talk about Will holding his hand during the entire bonfire, and even now, as their hands are laced together between them, Nico does not bring attention to it. He’s afraid of it meaning nothing, but he is also afraid of it meaning something.

 

He figures it means something when Will reaches down and kisses Nico softly when he says goodnight.

 

It’s a good something, warm and sweet.

 

-

 

“So,” Reyna says when Nico closes the door behind him. She looks eerie in the low light, more like the daughter of the war goddess and less of the friend that Nico has come to treasure.

 

“Don’t tell Jason,” he pleads again. “Or Hazel,” he adds for good measure.

 

She laughs and promises that she won’t.

 

-

 

When Reyna leaves, she kisses Nico on the cheek and ruffles his hair. “Hazel said I had to do the hair-ruffle thing at least once,” she explains.

 

Nico blushes. “Iris Message me when you get back, ok?”

 

She smiles. “Of course.”

 

-

 

He’s not sure what he’s expecting his day to begin with, but it’s not Jason and Percy bursting into his cabin when he’s asleep.

 

He has his sword in his hand and is pointing it at the intruders before he is even fully awake. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes and notices that it’s just Jason and Percy. He throws his sword to the ground with a loud clang that hurts his ears and falls back onto the bed, burying himself in the mass of colorful blankets and pillows.

 

“What,” he demands, his voice still groggy with sleep.

 

“We need to talk to you,” Jason says.

 

Nico wants to hit himself. _Why else would you be here? To have some tea?_

 

“About a certain someone,” Percy supplies. This sparks Nico’s interest. Is someone hurt?

 

“Is Hazel ok?” Nico says. He moves so his head is sticking out of the pile of blankets he is under.

 

“Yes, she’s fine. That’s not who we wanted to talk to you about,” Jason says. “We wanted to talk to you about a certain blonde, you know?”

 

“Apollo kid, really bad at archery but super good at healing?” Percy says and Nico wants to groan.

 

“No,” Nico says. “We’re not having this conversation.”

 

“Yes,” Jason disagrees, “yes we are.”

 

“You lied to me!” Percy says. He sounds genuinely hurt. “You said that there was nothing going on between you two, but there sure is.”

 

“We just want to make sure that you’re safe. Just because he seems like a good guy doesn’t mean everything. He is older than you.”

 

Nico rolls his eyes. “I’m older than everyone in this camp, except for Chiron and Mr. D. I’m fine, there’s nothing going on between us!”

 

“I know you’re lying, Nico,” Percy insists.

 

“If there’s truly nothing going on,” Jason says, “that’s fine. We just want to make sure you’re safe and happy ok? We care about you.”

 

“Yeah, Neeks, we all do care about you, ok?”

 

Nico shakes his head. “Don’t call me Neeks,” he mumbles. He pulls the covers up over his head. Maybe this way they’ll leave him alone so he can go back to sleep.

 

“Who knew that Nico di Angelo, Ghost King, was such a fan of pastels,” he hears Percy’s voice snickering.

 

This time, Nico does groan.

 

-

 

“Percy and Jason woke me up this morning,” Nico says, sitting on Will’s bunk in the Apollo cabin. The Apollo cabin is so much different from the Hades cabin, but that really should be a given. They are basically opposites, after all. 

 

Will laughs, picking up clothes from the floor and throwing them into the laundry baskets. Apparently even when Will asks them to pick up their clothes before their afternoon activities none of the kids actually do it. “How did they do that?”

 

“Asking about you.”

 

“Oh, so what did they ask about?”

 

“If we are together,” Nico says shyly.

 

Will drops the pile of clothes he has in his hands into one of the empty baskets. “Well, aren’t we?” he asks.

 

Nico smiles. “Yeah, yeah we are. I just didn’t tell them that,” he adds as an afterthought.

 

-

 

Reyna’s IM comes in a day later.

 

“I’m guessing you told Jason?” she asks, her voice coming out clear through the message.

 

“More like he found out.” Nico shrugs. “Wasn’t really keeping it a secret. But how do you know that he knows?”

 

“Hazel came by a few minutes ago telling me how Jason just called her to share some ‘exciting news’. His words, not mine.”

 

Nico laughs, and then Reyna laughs as well. It’s nice to laugh.

 

~

 

There’s a spot on the roof of the Hades’ cabin that is perfect for watching the stars and also for remaining hidden from the harpies if they are to come wandering by.

 

They’re holding hands again; they’re always holding hands now.

 

“I’m proud of you,” Will says, breaking the silence. Nico’s head is resting on his chest and Nico can feel the movement of his chest as Will breathes.

 

“For what?” Nico asks.

 

“For actually trying to get better. I’m really proud of you.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“For what?”

 

“For making you worry.”

 

“Don’t apologize for that, sunshine. Don’t ever apologize for that.”

 

Nico can hear Will’s heartbeat, smooth and steady under his ear. He knows he should be cold, just wearing his usual t-shirt and jeans ensemble, but he is wrapped up in Will and Will is so _so_ warm. 

 

Even the stars seem warm.


End file.
